Elf Ears and Striped Socks
by StudyInViolet
Summary: Among other things Tina and Artie end up as Santa's helpers for a day.  Just a little fluff for the holiday.


Elf Ears and Striped Socks

A/N: Just a little Christmas theme piece. Happy Holidays!

* * *

Originally the four of them were supposed to do it.

It was on what Tina termed Mercedes's list of things to do to reunite the Muppet Babies. What her friend lacked in subtlety she made up with a heavy dose of guilt. Between the ripple effects of the breakup and Kurt's transfer to Dalton, Mercedes had plenty of emotional leverage to coerce the three of them to things they normally wouldn't. And Tina didn't mind since she truly missed they way things were with just the four of them. It was just weird that although she and Artie were a sort of friends again the dynamics of the group was changed. Artie and Mercedes were hanging out more, even more so now than after Kurt went to Dalton. She and Kurt often banded together on group decision. While they now split girls vs boys on things, there was rarely any three against one alliances anymore, let alone when all four of them were in agreement.

So Tina put up with the list hoping everything could go back to the way things were.

Unfortunately Mercedes proved to be just as effective as Kurt was in plans.

Mercedes fell asleep during _Tron _only to wake while Kurt and Artie bickered over the special effects. Kurt had a panic attack in the middle of Hot Topic, and Tina and Mercedes knocked over a complex display in store nearly getting both electrocuted and a lifetime ban. They were kicked out the museum when she and Artie started arguing about a minor detail on an exhibit. But the worse was Operation Black Friday which ended up, among other things, with Kurt spraining his wrist, Tina ripping her arm warmers and Artie's chair nearly getting sold.

But this time it was supposed to work out, Mercedes promised Tina when she signed all four of them to be Santa's helpers to relieve the full time elves for a day. They knew the occupation hazards, children vomiting, angry parents, and the idea was that faced in adversary they could bond together. After all wasn't that got the four of them to be friends in the first place?

What happened in the end was, Tina got a phone call from Kurt apologizing that Dalton ended their term late and he would get back to late for the times they volunteered for. it was soon followed by a call from Mercedes claiming a minor family emergency meant she had to run about doing last minute Christmas shopping.

So that meant…

"Don't you dare laugh." Tina muttered as Artie wheeled up towards her at the North Pole exhibit. The bells on her hat and shoes jingling merrily whenever she breathed and kept wanting to pull at the skirt at the mandated puke green felt dress. Given that the candy cane like stockings were the only thing she liked she knew it was going to be a very long day.

"It doesn't look bad," Artie replied gesturing to the gender appropriate version, "you look as silly as I do."

"You're not helping."

"Seriously," Artie pointed out, to his larger than average ears, "I have elf ears."

At this Tina couldn't help but giggle. "My outfit is cuter anyway."

Not long after Tina made peace with her elf status, the children started lining up. With a few expectations she thought it went off rather well. Some of the parents were ruder than expected, and there was one little girl who solemnly handed her pamphlet about S.P.E.W. before she scampered off, but nothing extraordinary.

While she hung around the Mall Santa, Artie was at the end of the line monitoring the children as rolled passed them handing them candy canes as he passed. When Santa scampered off to the restroom, they sung some carols to children waiting in line, and told jokes from every Christmas special they could remember.

As then of the day, Tina had lost the bells off her shoes and Artie ended up with a few festive stickers on his chair decorating his chair.

"Another candy cane," Tina said leaning over in her chair to take a look, "that five of them, plus a tree, and a menorah. Want me to take them off?"

Artie shook his head and the bells on the hat he still wore jingled. "I'll take them off after Christmas, I was thinking of stringing lights on the chair."

Tina ripped open the ketchup package for her fries "Blinking lights?"

Artie nodded solemnly, "With music and bells."

She nodded along before they burst out laughing.

"My mother would kill me though," Artie admitted, "she thinks I'll electrocute myself."

"I'll save her the trouble and kill you myself."

Tina looked over to see Kurt and Mercedes behind them. Both were bundled against the cold and despite the temptations of last minute shopping held not a single bag between them.

"What are you doing here?" Artie asked.

Kurt tugged at his coat unaffected by the look Tina was giving him, "I got out of school early."

Mercedes shrugged, trying to appear as nonchalant as Kurt, but failing given her wide smile, "I had to pick up some wrapped gifts."

The two sat down, and they began to gossip about what was going on in Glee (the same old), their plans for the holidays (ice skating, babysitting, movie marathons), Kurt was putting up decorations in house (redoing them since there was popcorn on the Christmas tree), Mercedes promised to bring by her mother's gingerbread, and Artie made a number of bad jokes about Dalton being Hogwarts (Tina's jokes were much better).

As they laughed and exchanged tales, not making an effort but just letting the conversation be natural. Maybe the key of it was fixing the smaller relationships first instead of the larger one. It was theory she wanted to corner Mercedes about since Tina smelled a rat of the utter conveniences of their plans falling through. But she'll do it later. For now it felt like old times again, despite everything that happened in the past few months. Well except for one thing that felt like it was missing…

"By the way," Kurt added curling his lip in disgust, "those are horrid things, but it still not as bad as your clothes. Tell me you asked the big guy for new wardrobes for Christmas?"


End file.
